Ruthenium single atoms implanted on NiS2-FeS2 nanosheet heterostructures for efficacious water electrolysis

• Published in: Journal of materials chemistry. A, Materials for energy and sustainability Vol. 12; no. 6; pp. 3489 - 3500
• Main Authors: Ram Babu Ghising, Uday Narayan Pan, Mani Ram Kandel, Purna Prasad Dhakal, Saleem Sidra, Kim, Do Hwan, Kim, Nam Hoon, Lee, Joong Hee
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Royal Society of Chemistry 06.02.2024
• Subjects: Bimetals; Current density; Density functional theory; Electrolysis; Heterostructures; Hydrogen evolution reactions; Hydrogen production; Iron compounds; Iron sulfides; Nanosheets; Nickel compounds; Oxygen evolution reactions; Pyrite; Ruthenium; Water splitting
• ISSN: 2050-7488; 2050-7496
• DOI: 10.1039/d3ta05630a

The catalytic potential of single atom incorporated heterostructures holds substantial promise because of their ability to offer customizable chemical functionality and abundant active sites. In this study, a novel approach is employed to synthesize ruthenium single atoms (RuSA) implanted on bimetallic NiFe-LDH derived sulfide nanosheet heterostructures (RuSA-NiS2-FeS2) via a facile technique. Experimental findings demonstrate that RuSA-NiS2-FeS2 exhibits lower overpotential (η) for water splitting. Specifically, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) overpotentials at current densities of (10 and 100) mA cm−2 are measured to be (57 and 187) mV, respectively. Similarly, at (20 and 100) mA cm−2, the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotentials are recorded to be (242 and 304) mV, respectively. Conspicuously, the RuSA-NiS2-FeS2 (+, −) electrolyzer requires cell potentials of (1.47 and 1.74) V at (10 and 100) mA cm−2, lower than the cell potentials of (1.57 and 1.92) V required by the RuO2@NF (+)//Pt–C@NF (−) device to achieve similar current densities. These experimental results and the Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations unveil that our research offers a promising method for single atom implanted heterostructures that can be used for large-scale clean hydrogen production through water electrolysis.